Let's get to it!
(A side note for the Skeptical Squirrels: this cookbook was a Christmas gift from Mr. Wing-It, and I am not being compensated in any way for writing this post. Mmkay?)
Let's go ahead and start with the "Sweet Endings." Bianca's Choco-Chocolate Praline Cookies are dangerously delicious and one of my favorite cookies ever. I'm talking scarf-down-a-whole-batch-in-a-day delicious! The sweet, maple-coated pecans really make these cookies special - throw in some gooey chocolate chips and you're in trouble!
I'm not a big fan of my birthday, but I am a big fan of birthday cupcakes. Bianca's Yella' Cake with Fudgy Frosting was a perfect recipe to sweeten up my birthday last February. As you can see, instead of making a big cake I made cute little cupcakes. Turmeric gives the cake a lovely yellow color without us having to reach for the artificial yellow #5, and the chocolate frosting is so amazing I could eat it all straight out of the bowl!
The Fresh Strawberry Pie is so good, even if the last time that I made it (to take this picture) strawberries weren't in season and they were rather pale. I always enjoy mine with a little scoop of vanilla coconut-milk ice cream - a perfect combo!
I made minis. It's what I do.
I'm not a huge fan of blackberries, or more precisely blackberry seeds, but the Whole Wheat Blackberry Cobbler was lovely in spite of my hatred of berry seeds. As you can see, I baked mine in individual ramekins and the blackberries got very excited in the oven, enough to decorate the edges of the bowls with pretty little specks! Look how juicy my fresh blackberries were!
Oh, look, more ice cream :)
Let's slurp up some of the juice so you can see the cute little blackberries...
You can thank Bianca's Granny for the Old-Fashioned Coconut Pie, because she veganized her old non-vegan recipe for Bianca and it's absolutely amazing! Creamy, coconutty heaven...
You're not having a déjà vu. This is one of my old tester photos.
The Cinnamon-Pecan Waffles are... they... I... I can't even handle how good they are! It's insane! They are just incredible. They are nutty, cinnamony, squares of awesomeness. The batter smells so good when it hits the hot waffle-maker and the scent takes over the whole house. Add some maple syrup on top and your soul will belong to these waffles forever. Yep, these are my favorite waffles.
Another oldie from my tester days.
Should we have some savory treats now? How 'bout some Creole Steamed Sausages? I am not the most skillful vegan sausage-maker, but even I managed to make these and they were glorious! Spicy and flavorful, just like I like my fauxsages. As you can see here, I used red kidney beans (those dark spots are bean bits) instead of the white beans that I was supposed to use. That's what I get for going grocery shopping without a shopping list.
The Southern Tofu Chicken Biscuits are so incredibly tasty that I took a bad picture because I was in such a hurry to eat mine. This stuff is beer-battered, people! Beer battered! This was my tofu splurge of the month (in case you don't know, soy doesn't agree with me if I eat it too often) and it was so worth the wait! Beer battered!
Beer. Battered!
The Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits are fluffy and perfect. I like to eat mine with a little Earth Balance and a cup of hot lemony tea. I can't say I've tried them with Southern gravy yet...
Is this post getting too long? I'll try to speed things up! The Creamy Cashew Mac and Cheese is wonderfully creamy and delicious indeed!
The Cheesy Twice Baked Taters with Leeks and Dill are insanely tasty - forget the main dish, just give me extra taters!
With Daiya on top
Oh, look. Here they are again with chives and... maybe Galaxy Rice Vegan Cheddar? Can't remember!
Bianca's Memphis-Style Barbecue Sauce is the only barbecue sauce recipe I will ever need. If Cookin' Crunk had only one recipe in the whole book, and it was this barbecue sauce recipe - the book would have still been worth every penny! Store-bought barbecue sauce is for suckers! :D
The Fried Squash is fabulous! So easy and crispy and tasty!
A bowl of Bianca's classic Country Potato Soup will knock the winter-grumpies out of anyone! (pair it with a fluffy biscuit and you're in soup heaven!)
I can't remember what I sprinkled on top of my soup there. Fried onion bits? Glow worms?
The Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Casserole is a wholesome, belly-warming dish that I could eat every day. It looks a bit messy here, but the messiness just adds to the homemade, wholesome experience!
And I've saved another one of my favorites for last - Whole Wheat Beer Bread! So quick and easy to make! This bread is one of those things that I need to half or even quarter the recipe or I'll eat the whole loaf in a day. Good luck to Mr. Wing-It trying to grab a slice before I hide it all in my belly.
Phew! That was a long one! Check out Bianca's blog, Vegan Crunk, for more vegan awesomeness. Bianca has been blogging regularly since 2007, so her blog is bursting at the seams with recipes, restaurant reviews, and all sorts of vegan greatness. Plus she's so cute and witty and funny, and all her annual Happy Solstice posts with all her furry companions opening their gifts are adorable and hilarious. Bianca for president!
One more thing before I go MIA again for a while. If you follow Wing It Vegan on Facebook, you might have noticed an update from me where I shared the awesome news that Cindy has started a blog!! I knew she'd come to the dark side eventually! Cindy's family is in the process of adopting a beautiful little girl from Ukraine. I am quite fascinated by international adoption stories, even more so when the story involves an "older" child who is embraced by an adoring family. Cindy is sharing their adoption experience with us from almost the beginning, so I'm pretty sure by the time their little Maria arrives home, we're all going to be shedding a tear of joy... or ten. Check out Cindy's blog The Other 1%, where she blogs about her "vegan, homeschooling, soon-to-be-adoptive family."
OK, stick a fork in me - I'm done! See you around! :)
